With the start of the new Iranian academic year, a raft of restrictions on courses open to female students has been introduced, raising questions about the rights of women to education in Iran - and the long-term impact such exclusions might have.

More than 30 universities have introduced new rules banning female students from almost 80 different degree courses.

These include a bewildering variety of subjects from engineering, nuclear physics and computer science, to English literature, archaeology and business.

No official reason has been given for the move, but campaigners, including Nobel Prize winning lawyer Shirin Ebadi, allege it is part of a deliberate policy by the authorities to exclude women from education.

"The Iranian government is using various initiatives… to restrict women's access to education, to stop them being active in society, and to return them to the home," she told the BBC.

Higher Education Minister Kamran Daneshjoo has sought to play down the situation, stressing Iran's strong track record in getting young people into higher education and saying that despite the changes, 90% of university courses are still open to both men and women.

Iran was one of the first countries in the Middle East to allow women to study at university and since the Islamic Revolution in 1979 it has made big efforts to encourage more girls to enrol in higher education.

The gap between the numbers of male and female students has gradually narrowed. In 2001 women outnumbered men for the first time and they now make up more than 60% of the overall student body.

A university entrance exam at a high school in Tehran, June 2009 University entrance exams are highly competitive in Iran, with the number of female applicants increasing each year

Year-on-year more Iranian women than men are applying for university places, motivated some say by the chance to live a more independent life, to have a career and to escape the pressure from parents to stay at home and to get married.

Women are well-represented across a wide range of professions and there are many female engineers, scientists and doctors.

But many in Iran fear that the new restrictions could now undermine this achievement.

"I wanted to study architecture and civil engineering," says Leila, a young woman from the south of Iran. "But access for girls has been cut by fifty per cent, and there's a chance I won't get into university at all this year."

In the early days after the Islamic revolution, universities were one of the few places where young Iranian men and women could mix relatively freely.

Over the years this gradually changed, with universities introducing stricter measures like separate entrances, lecture halls and even canteens for men and women.

Since the unrest after the 2009 presidential election this process has accelerated as conservative politicians have tightened their grip on the country.

Women played a key role in those protests - from the traditionally veiled but surprisingly outspoken wives of the two main opposition candidates, to the glamorous green-scarved demonstrators out on the streets of Tehran and other cities.

A woman protests after a heavily disputed Presidential election in June 2009 in Tehran's Azadi Square Some say it was the prominient role of women in 2009's protests that has unnerved Iran's conservative leaders

Some Iranians say it was the sight of so many young Iranian women at the forefront of the protests in 2009 that unnerved the country's conservative leaders and prompted them into action.

"The women's movement has been challenging Iran's male-dominated establishment for several years," says Saeed Moidfar, a retired sociology professor from Tehran.

"Traditional politicians now see educated and powerful women as a threat."
'Islamisation'

In a speech after the 2009 protests, the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the "Islamisation" of universities and criticised subjects like sociology, which he said were too western-influenced and had no place in the Iranian Islamic curriculum.

Since then, there have been many changes at universities, with courses cut and long-serving academic staff replaced with conservative loyalists.

Many see the new restrictions on female students as a continuation of this process.

In August 2012 Ayatollah Khamenei made another widely-discussed speech calling for Iranians to return to traditional values and to have more children.

It was an affront to many in a country which pioneered family planning and has won praise from around the world for its emphasis on the importance of providing families with access to contraception.

"People are more educated now and they are more concerned about the size of their families," says Saeed Moidfar. "I doubt that the government plans will change anything."

However, since the speech there have been reports of cutbacks in family planning programmes, and in sex education classes at universities.

It is not yet clear exactly how many women students have been affected by the new rules on university entrance. But as the new academic year begins, at least some have had to completely rethink their career plans.

"From the age of 16 I knew I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, and I really worked hard for it," says Noushin from Esfahan. "But although I got high marks in the National University entrance exam, I've ended up with a place to study art and design instead."

Over the coming months campaigners will be watching closely to track the effects of the policy and to try to gauge the longer-term implications.

Well this is slightly depressing...despite all the propaganda you hear about Iran everyday...Iran is a nation that has many, many positives. The rich culture that dates back thousands of years, and continues to thrive despite the isolation of the regime from large parts of the world.

For a country that pioneered so many things(even after the overthrow of the Shah) to now scale things back in such a short sighted manner is foolish.

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
Well this is slightly depressing...despite all the propaganda you hear about Iran everyday...Iran is a nation that has many, many positives. The rich culture that dates back thousands of years, and continues to thrive despite the isolation of the regime from large parts of the world.

For a country that pioneered so many things(even after the overthrow of the Shah) to now scale things back in such a short sighted manner is foolish.

They might have their justifcations, if there could be one, but its Very sad ..

They might have their justifcations, if there could be one, but its Very sad ..

I've never gone with the Iranians hate the world and want to destroy everything line that EVERYONE wants us to believe, and have an immense respect for the country, and I have some Iranian friends - religious and not, but all are very generous people.

I've been lucky to receive their hospitality and WOW. My father visited Iran 8-9 times, and always spoke about it very positively.

I know they are an Islamic State, but Saudi Arabia claims to be the same(well aside from being a Kingdom ) but compare and contrast. Educated youth, hard working and ambitious.

So like you say, this looks like a case of political pragmatism but in the long term the Iranian state will suffer.

Originally Posted by F6_Turbo
I've never gone with the Iranians hate the world and want to destroy everything line that EVERYONE wants us to believe, and have an immense respect for the country, and I have some Iranian friends - religious and not, but all are very generous people.

I've been lucky to receive their hospitality and WOW. My father visited Iran 8-9 times, and always spoke about it very positively.

I know they are an Islamic State, but Saudi Arabia claims to be the same(well aside from being a Kingdom ) but compare and contrast. Educated youth, hard working and ambitious.

So like you say, this looks like a case of political pragmatism but in the long term the Iranian state will suffer.

Agree to what you said. I had the opportunity to mix very closely with Iranians. I have seen so many Europeans speak so high of Iran. IMO, they are the most progressive amongst the Muslims, specially in education they are way ahead of the rest of the Muslims.

I can understand why they decided so, at the cost of their future. I'm sure it's a temporary action, although it will take its toll in future. They are really being invaded in multiple directions. They consider women gives an easy access to foreign elements with malicious intent. But I don't think this is the right way to deter/confront that. Government definitely acts basing on their intelligence findings and the cases must be on the rise, so they decided so. But it's sad and it will harm them in future.

Hope it's just a wartime strategy and they revert to their normal systems in favorable times soon.

Sad thing is ... Iran again dragging into another middle east war, and this time it would more damaging and millions of Iranian Muslim death are looming. Shia vs Sunni sectarian in Muslim world making them completely voiceless in this case. It is painful to see millions of lives at stake again.

this is a very sad development. I know a few iranian physicists, including women and they are all pretty smart. for which reason I have a very high regard for educational standard of teheran univ. iran was a beacon in ME until the khatami era and its +ve after effects continued long after he was gone. this change in policy seems rather abrupt. looks like the rural hardliners are controlling policy.

They refer to the source of the news being the Iranian news agency Mehr.

You won't have me at A jut because it had Arabiya on it.
No matter what the source is, I would always use my own judgment before making up my mind about anything. These days, seeing is not always believing.

The news report is certainly very sad and disappointing and you would have to wonder why a progressive nation like Iran would do such thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Naimul_Hd
Wait.

Now more Iranian girls will come to Australia for Higher studies as they are not allowed to study in Iran, right ?

Going back to school again Naimul ?

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Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest [Al-Qur'an,13:28]

Originally Posted by NoName
Sad to hear, the Persians have brains compared to the neighboring countries.

You can't make generalizations like that. My gut feeling though was that Iran was a very progressive country amongst the Islamic Republics of the world. This news is surprising to say the least.

I did read in Time magazine that the sanctions have started to hit hard although there seems to be a superficial prosperity all around Tehran. According to the article, Iran is supposedly just "months" away from economic collapse.

a well known Muslim Scholar(Sheikh Albani, May Allah have mercy on him)
said this:

Quote:

Shaykh al-Albaanee:

"There are no doubts about the need of women doctors. It is better for a woman to show herself for a woman, and in some cases even her private parts, than to show it for the man. Therefore the woman has to study medicine and medicine related knowledge. But it has to occur in a prescribed way so that one does not mix with men."

That country has been going downhill from the moment Khamenei-Ahmadinejad stole the elections. They may believe that they've burying the incredible social, economic and political progress of the Khatemi years, but this is the beginning of their own end. Women in Iran are some of the most courageous, conscientious, educated and organized in the world and they'll find a get rid of the reactionary misogynists one way or another if the elections are stolen again. The fact that they're also amongst the hottest may or may not add to their success.

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"And do not curse those who call on other than GOD, lest they blaspheme and curse GOD, out of ignorance. We have adorned the works of every group in their eyes. Ultimately, they return to their Lord, then He informs them of everything they had done." (Qur'an 6:108)